Pebble Beach 2010 - Brough Superior
Coming Sept 3
Despite a sticker price that topped Rolls Royce, the White Steamer was a near instant success, and soon became the White House's first official car.
The White Motor Company produced more steam cars than any other automaker. Of 10,000, only about 150 survive today - and Jay's trying his best to keep this 1907 model on the road by rebuilding its engine.
Steam power was a no-brainer around the turn of the century. You could use anything that would burn as fuel; the steam engine was purely mechanical and had few moving parts; and steam power provided instantaneous torque, eliminating the need for gears, and allowing a vehicle to climb hills in a snap. By 1900, there were about 100 firms building steam cars in the United States. Half of the 2000 cars on the road were powered by steam, and the most popular of the American steam cars was the Stanley Steamer.
The White Sewing Machine Company was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1858. Founder Thomas H. White moved his company to Cleveland, Ohio, an early center of automobile production, in 1866.
Although there were four Doble brothers, Abner Doble went down in history as the genius behind the Doble steam car. While still in high school in California, Abner and his brothers built their first steamer in their parents’ basement.
The Stanley Steamer was the brainchild of twin brothers Francis Edgar Stanley and Freelan O. Stanley, who began building steam cars as a hobby in 1897, after selling their photographic plate business to Eastman Kodak.